To balance yin and yang
by My-LookingGlass
Summary: Adopted from acolyte of truth. After failing the gennin exam Naruto is tricked into stealing the forbidden scroll. Learning a nameless and complex jutsu everything changes and balance must be maintained to survive.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This for the most part is acolyte of truth work with my editing to make it fit with my story plot. So except for deletion of a sentence or 2 and the addition of one or 2 it's all his :)

Chapter 1: Becoming One

The sky was an inky black this particular night in the village of Konoha. Thick, black clouds obscured the shining stars, but it didn't matter much, as the moon wasn't out to begin with. In short, it was as dark as it could be this night. However, that didn't stop the commotion in the village.

Shinobi of all ranks chuunin and up were scurrying around, scouring the village top to bottom, looking for a young boy no older than twelve years of age. When taken out of context, many would be confused as to why the military of the most powerful nation in the world were looking for one small boy. After all, what had he done? What could he do?

You see, the boy himself was considered to be of little danger to himself or others, but there were a few unique situations that made the ones searching for him panic and worry a little. To understand the first reason, one would be required to travel back int time to the day the boy, Uzumaki Naruto was born.

On October tenth all those years ago, a great destructive force plagued the land. The Kyuubi no Kitsune, a beast of legend like the rest of the mythical bijuu, threatened to destroy everything that stood in its way, Konoha included. The hokage at the time, Namikaze Minato, father of Naruto, was celebrated for his skill, being regarded as one of the greatest shinobi of all time, knew of only one way to vanquish the beast.

That night, the Yondaime hokage gave his life to seal the beast within his newborn son. However, those who knew of this saw it as a great insult, as the beast had caused nearly everyone to lose a person close to them. As such, they often mistreated the boy, mobs of people would hunt him, venders would refuse to sell to him and beatings were not uncommon. These acts forced the reinstated Sandaime to enact a law that forbade anyone from telling the truth of that night, an offense punishable by death.

The other reason why people were panicking so was due to what the boy had done. Uzumaki Naruto had stolen the villages forbidden scroll, an article filled with techniques sealed away for various reasons, either for the price one had to pay to cast the technique, any moral repercussions there might be, or because no one had a good idea of what id did exactly, and no one wanted to find out bad enough.

However, it wasn't all the boy's fault. You see, Naruto had been depressed after failing his final shinobi exam for the third time in a row. To him, it seemed as if he would never achieve his dream of becoming hokage. As such, he was increasingly susceptible to his smooth-talking teacher's plot.

The only reason he had stolen the scroll was because he was told that if he could steal the scroll and learn a technique from it by the time he was found, it was an automatic pass. The way Naruto saw it, he wasn't doing any harm. At the most he was graduating and getting a new jutsu to boot. How could he say no to something like that. Plus, he was bound to impress Iruka-sensei, right? They were friends, weren't they? Mizuki-sensei was just helping him.

So, as everybody searched the village, it only occurred to two individuals to search the woods. It would take a while, but they knew that they would find him. And they would, but only once it was too late, as the young boy was already far ahead of them. In fact, a little more than two miles outside the village, a blonde haired youth burst from the trees and into a nice, large clearing.

He was easy to see, despite the darkness that embraced everything around, as his blonde head seemed to glow. His deep blue eyes, like sapphires shimmering with an inner flame, sparkled with mischief and excitement. Three dark lines marred either cheek, resembling whiskers, and his smile together enhanced the boy's fox-like appearance. Also, he was wearing an orange jumpsuit, which helped him to be seen... well, anywhere, really, but here in particular.

Satisfied that this was as good a place as any he would find, the blonde plopped down against tree and took a giant scroll off of his back. He placed it in front of him and rubbed his hands together in eager participation. "Okay, let's see what this baby's got."

With that, he unraveled the scroll a good amount and scanned over some of the jutsus in the scroll.

"Naw, lame, useless, don't understand what that means, no, nope," as Naruto went through most of those techniques, he kept unraveling the scroll, hoping to find a technique he could learn fast and would be super badass. There was a sudden gust, causing the scroll to unravel more than Naruto wanted, but he paid no mind to that, as a new jutsu caught his eye. "What the...?"

the jutsu in question had no name, only a description. Allegedly, it was supposed to help one harvest the powers of nature, giving them the ability to sap an opponent of their chakra, tap into the chakra of plants and animals, perform nature based jutsu or appear anywhere there was plant life. Of course, it was instead written in such a complex language that the blonde didn't even begin to understand.

Of course, that just solidified Naruto's theory that the technique was majorly badass, so he skipped straight to the requirements. He found it a little strange that he needed to cover his hands with blood, but he did so, figuring that every cool jutsu had a small cost.

So, taking out a kunai, Naruto made a deep gash in his palm, wincing a bit at the pain. Reading the next step, the blonde's brow crinkle din confusion at seeing he was to cover his hands in dirt. So with his crimson hands, Naruto began to dig, irritating his wound, but he ignored that. Soon, his hands were covered brown in their entirety.

Luckily, the next step was for the handseals, though, again, Naruto was confused, as many of the seals he hadn't see before. So, he did them a few times first, slowly to make sure he got them down. Naruto then finished the jutsu.

Now, what Naruto didn't know, as it wasn't written, was that the jutsu required a highly volatile chakra source to work. What he also didn't know was that he was releasing such a chakra as stated thanks to the Kyuubi. He soon finished, and was confused when he found himself tingling. He couldn't ponder that though, as drowsiness came out of nowhere, and he was out before he knew it.

To add to things, casting the jutsu had sent out a small energy wave, allowing those two searching in the forest to pinpoint his exact location, causing them to rush to him. It wouldn't be long before they stumbled upon something they never expected.

/

Blearily, Naruto cracked one of his eyes open. He quickly closed them shut, though, as he was wracked with pain. To add to that, his head dully ached and his whole body was tingly for some reason. Sluggishly, Naruto moved to sit up, muttering, "What the hell?" as he wondered what had happened to him. Then, he realized that he had just woken up, and his eyes shot open in shock. "Wait, how did I fall asleep? what did that jutsu do? Shit! How long was I out? Not good! Not good! I-I gotta' find another jutsu, and fast!"

Stumbling, Naruto moved to pick up the scroll, looking for something that he could learn quickly. He was surprised to find himself tripping over his own feet, and falling flat on his face in the dirt. He moved and leaned himself back against a tree, and that was it. He was out of energy. How had this happened? What was going on?

He didn't have much time to ponder, as a new person soon entered the clearing. "Finally found you! Naruto, do you have any idea how..." the person talking suddenly cut themselves off, much to Naruto's confusion, as even though he couldn't see him, he recognized the voice.

'Iruka?' using all of his remaining strength, he raised his head enough to see a tanned man standing their, a stunned look on his face. He had a long scar running across the bridge of his nose and his hair done in a spiky ponytail. It was definitely Iruka.

All was silent for a moment, as both parties just stared at one another, unable to do anything. It wasn't long, or, at least, Naruto didn't think it was, before another presence entered the clearing. This person's only distinguishing features were his shoulder length silver hair, and the cruel smirk on his face. "Congrats kid, you pa-..." the man started, and then he noticed Iruka just standing there. He expected to be yelled at, asked why he was there, but instead he didn't seem to be noticed, prompting him to tilt his head in confusion. Then, his face resembled Iruka's, as his eyes moved across the field, and he saw what his colleague saw.

'Mizuki?' Naruto thought as he now saw the man staring at him too. 'Why are they both staring at me? What's wrong?' Still unable to move, Naruto was starting to panic. He knew something was wrong, and he could tell something bad was about to happen, but he didn't know what either of those things were.

Finally, one of the two gaping men spoke. "Mizuki," Iruka spoke, his tone hushed and conspiratorial, "I think that that's Naruto."

"Kami-sama," the silver-haired man spoke, shivering a little, "it's worse than we ever could have imagined. How did this happen? He should be harmless! This shouldn't have happened!"

"Mizuki! Get a hold of yourself!" Iruka shouted, trying to calm the man down. "We-we need to think about this! We can't just rush to conclusions! There needs to be another reason for it!"

"How can there be another reason?" by now, Mizuki was ragged, deranged. And still Naruto didn't understand what was going on. The more time that went by, the further from consciousness he was getting. "Think, Iruka! I know you liked the kid, but there's no hope now! Look at what the beast has done!"

and Iruka did, and despite how hard he tried, couldn't disagree with Mizuki Slowly, the scarred man pulled out a kunai. "Then there's only one thing we can do," he said in a low voice. Naruto, even though he had given up on following the two, knew what was about to happen.

'Iruka. No.' Evan in his mind, he was too tired to yell. 'Please, no. Why? What did I do? I thought we were friends.' A single tear ran down the boy's face. Then, something inside him just snapped, as he couldn't take the new developments. He didn't care how Iruka was acting, as his self-preservation instincts kicked in. 'Go. I need to escape. Get away.' And with that, Naruto once again slipped into blackness, leaving behind two increasingly shocked men.

/

it would be some time before Naruto woke up again. He knew that it had to have been a couple of hours at first, as the first thing that he noticed was that the sun was almost at its highest point in the sky. It was then that he noticed that he was just barely in a cave, and all of the previous events came back to him. How he had stolen the scroll, tried to learn a jutsu, and woke up finding himself about to be killed by one of the closest people in his life.

Naruto got pretty depressed after that, curling himself up against the cave walls and closing his eyes to stave off tears that were threatening to spill. His only thought was that they wanted him dead. All of them. And he had somehow gotten away. Away. He was gone from the place that had mistreated him his whole life. He never had to deal with that again. He was free.

That final thought brought about a change in Naruto. Everyone wanted him dead? Fuck them! He would live just to spite them. He didn't need anyone. After all, what had they done for him? He had lived his whole life on his own, so how was this any different? You know, besides not knowing where he was. Resolve steeled, Naruto pulled himself up and decided to find out where he was.

He slowly walked out of the cave and over to the edge of the cliff he was situated on, and immediately felt his eyes widen. Below him was something out of a dream; a peaceful little section of forest area, with clean treas, a few animals roaming about, and a nice, crystal pond near him. Naruto quickly rushed down to make sure it was all real, starting with the pond.

He ducked down to the water and splashed some on his face, shivering at how cold it was, the he took in a few big gulps. This wasn't a dream. His eyes opened, and then Naruto froze at what he saw. He was looking at the water, an in it, he saw a reflection. And it wasn't him. At least, he didn't want it to be him.

Gone were his blue eyes, replaced by deep purple ones instead, one had a slit pupil while the other appeared to still be normal. No longer was his hair blonde, instead being a dark green. His skin was now two tones, black and white on the right and left respectfully, cut straight down the middle, the black half appearing as if it had no mouth. To top it off, two plant-like extensions sprouted from his shoulders, sporting thorns on them.

"W-what?" Naruto managed to gasp out. Was this why Iruka had tried to kill him? He was a monster. What had that jutsu done? Naruto staggered back a little in shock, falling down. His panic increased as he heard a deep voice full of malice.

"So, you finally notice?"

"Wh-who's there?" Naruto mustered up all the courage he could, but it was had when a voice came out of nowhere right next to you and you justy found out you were a freak.

The voice seemed to ponder the question for a moment. "I suppose technically I am you. We are one in the same now. But you knew my as the Kyuubi no Kitsune. We've shared the same body for a while now, but that jutsu you used has allowed me more control this time around. You've given me a second chance, and we are now one, so allow me to show you what's been under your nose the whole time."

Naruto found himself unable to say anything, shocked by what was going on. He couldn't come up with any retort. Soon, his head began to tingle, then it just burst into pain, as Naruto soon passed out, a silent scream in his throat.


	2. Chapter 2

The pain, it burned its way through me. I stood in front of a cage with a slip of paper with a seal on it in the middle. The area around us looked to be a sewer. i could tell the fox was in chakra was leaking out and the seal was being shred apart. The area around us was changing. The bars were gone at this point and there was just a wide open space. Half the space stayed the same while the other half took on an earthy look and reminded me of a fix hole. In the middle of the room there was a small almost vortex looking pond? where red and blue chakra met mixing them together creating a third source of chakra. Thought and emotions also began to mix. If was a weird feeling being able to feel you're own emotions and have you're own thoughts but then also be able to feel another set if emotions and thoughts of another. We were now truly bound together. Not even death would separate us. We were now only one entity.  
"How?" Was all I could say. The pain was finally lessening and I was so confused. Why was this happening? To me/us.  
**"The technique you used allows one to harness the power of natural world. Normally this is accomplished with the use on yin and yang, positive and negative energies. You're chakra is naturally yin while mine falls to yang. Normally people have a neutral chakra but you have a unique situation. Because of this it needed a source if yang energies which I provided. This bound us together. I am finally free of that wretched cage. You can no longer bind me here." **Laughing filled the room shaking the walls. The pain was nothing then a dull throb now.  
"So, we are the same person?" Confusion laced my voice. I could feel the Kyuubi's amusement at my ignorance. I could hear his thoughts buzzing though I couldn't decipher them.  
**"The best way to explain it would be to say we are one body with two minds." **  
I thought about this. The Kyuubi scared me, but I can understand not wanting to be in a cage...but why me? What have I done to deserve any of this. My eyes widened in realization.  
"Are you the reason the villagers treated me the way they did. Why they would beat me? Why they would stare at me with those cold eyes?!" My voice was rising and I could feel my own anger beginning to come forward. How could they treat me like that for something I couldn't control, it wasn't my choice, it wasn't my fault and they just blamed me for the foxes actions. All those years of just wanting to be acknowledged. And then I felt all the anger fade and I was just sad. It was to much to deal with. Looking back up at the demon I studied him. His body was made of chakra and emitted heat. His eyes were a bright red that reminded my of blood and malicious intentions showed. Large teeth fit neatly in his snout. I could feel his enjoyment at my torment.  
"So what now fox? Where does that leave us? Stuck together for life and death." My voice came out softly barely more then a whisper. He seemed taken aback by this.  
**"What do you mean by that?" **  
"If we want to survive now we can't fight against each other. That would be suicidal. How do we control the body? How do we decide where to go?" He tilted his head. If he wasn't demonic it could be cute. Many emotions flashed through him, anger, bloodlust, sadness, and confusion being a few.  
**"So you would work with me gaki? I killed you're kin, attacked you're village and I'm the cause of you're pain and yet you would work with me a demon?" **Interest was in his voice.  
"Yes I would. For all I know you had a good reason to attack the village and the villagers ignorance is the cause of my pain. Also according to you we are the same now so either you turned human or we are both half demons, making us the same." Malicious amusement shone in his eyes at my thoughts. He seemed to be considering something. I was in no rush to continue talking so I just say against the wall of my sewer and closed my eyes. Processing the events that had happened which had forever changed my/our life.

When I woke up, the sun was rising. The ponds water was calm. My body felt funny. It was like I only had control of half of it even if I could still feel the other half. It was an almost ethral feeling. Pushing myself up into a sitting position I took inventory on what I/we had. My jumpsuit was ripped and didn't fit around the...I don't know what it's called...  
**"It's called a flytrap gaki."** I could my lips move as Kyuubi spoke and the voice that came out was deeper and rougher then my normal voice. I was shocked more about him controlling mine/our body then the information he gave me.  
"You just read my mind!" I shouted out my voice hadn't changed any, interesting.

**"I told you were where bound mind body and soul you idiot, the longer we are together the easier it will be to recognize each others thoughts and predict the others movements."** He growled out obviously not irritated with my not remembering that fact.  
"I'm sorry Kyuu, I didn't mean to forget." My voice came out whiny but I really didn't care.  
**"Shut up you imbecile, I'm going to let you control my half of the body so you can show me how to walk, I've never walked in a human form before so you need to do some basic movements so I can feel how it's done, got it?" **He barked out his orders. I just nodded enthusiastically and the other half the body became less resistant to me. Looking down at my/our hands I realized I controlled the white half while he controlled the black half. Quickly I pushed myself/us up and began to walk in a circle. I did some motions with my/our hands and then I started to run. It was difficult, the flytrap through me off balance and it was hard to use Kyuubi's part of the body. It was like wearing waits on half you're body.  
**"Enough boy, let me try now." **He seemed awfully eager and as I let my control recede so that he could practice with my half until he got it, after that we could learn to walk together. As he took us forward, walking a slow pace I could feel how giddy and excited he was.  
**"I had almost forgotten what it was like to feel." **This made me think about the fact that for the last 12years he had been completely isolated. After about an hour judging by the son we sat down to take a break.  
"We've got to learn to walk together at the same time, we should do that next." As uncomfortable as it was to share my/our body training always got me excited and this was a type of training...I think.  
**"Calm down you retard, we need to rest first. We've been taking turns back and forth with our body, we need to rest now fool."** I was beginning to think Kyuu could never not insult me.  
"We'll duh, but we only need a small break! And after we are able to do that we can practice some jutsu's" I was so excited! I wondered if there would be jutsu only we could do because of what had happened to us.  
**"Calm the fuck down brat, focus on this first." **He barked out. I just hmphed and folded our arms.

We had spent the rest of the day walking together. By nightfall we had finally got it down pack.  
**"We're going to have to leave tomorrow, I'm sure someone is looking for us from Konoha. Probably to kill us so we need to find out where we are."**  
"What! Why would they kill us, as soon as the old man hears he'll just send someone to get us and he'll see for himself that were ok!" I wanted to go back home, it may not have been nice but I didn't know anything else.  
**"He'll do what he think is best for the village brat. We are just one, if he thinks we will harm the villagers he'll kill us."**  
I didn't want to believe him. Sighing he continued. **"But if for some reason he will allow us to return to his village and live there I will allow is to go, otherwise it is suicide. I'm sure we'll run across a Konoha shinobi at some point. Is that fair?" **I was so happy all I could do was nod. I knew he didn't think it would happen but I was glad he didn't smash all my hopes and dreams right there...maybe he was taking us working together seriously. With happy thoughts I/we fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Dreaming had been interesting. We had shared one. He was a fox about the size of a horse and I was how I used to be and we were running through a forest running away from a mob, but running towards a place that felt like a home. Just when we reached our destination we woke up. It was noon now and we had been practicing some basic ninja skill kunai and shuriken throwing, kawarimi and taijutsu. We were now trying to find a village or road so we could find out where we were. "How do you think we got here?" I asked. I was confused, I could tell we were no longer in Konoha and I didn't know how we arrived.

**"It must have been an instinctual jutsu that our transformation lets us do. Do you remember what was happening when it was performed?"**

"Well I was scared and sad because of Iruka-sensei trying to kill me an u just wanted to go away and be somewhere safe. I was leaning against the tree and it was like I just sort of fell into it and then I was in the clearing." I thought this over speaking slowly trying to remember what I had done. If we/I could copy what I had done before it could be very useful and it would be our first jutsu. I could almost hear Kyuu's thoughts now, it was like a low murmur or a loud whisper. We could now pick up where the other wanted to move but to do something like climb or do a complicated taijutsu we still needed to communicate with the other. Kyuu was often mean and sarcastic but it was nice to be with someone after being alone for so long. So when Kyuu began to go towards the tree I instinctively began to walk to the tree also.

**"Put you're hand on the tree and try to "fall into it" again. I want to see what happens." **Nodding our head I raised my white arm and places my hand on the trees rough surface. I was surprised when I could feel it thrumming and Kyuu's interest peeked. I focused on melting into the tree. Kyuu sensing my difficulty keeping focus helped me. He relaxed himself in a meditative like way and it made it easier to relax and focus almost like he was the concentration and I was the what directed it. Soon we found ourselves inside of the tree. It was amazing it was like being wrapped in a large blanket. I/we were still aware of what was happening outside. It was being inside a one way glass dome, but I/we could feel the tree's life, how it's roots extended far underground, how that connected to other plants. I was in awe as a new world unfolded before my/our eyes. It was like I could feel the entire world. I moved us through it, wanting experience everything.

**"Are you a retart brat? Stop goofing off and get out of here, do you even know what the hell you're doing?" **pissed off Kyuu growled at me. Realizing he was right I quickly stepped out only to realize we were 400m from the clearing from earlier, it had only been 5-8 seconds. I was amazed we had moved so fast! If I/we could learn to do this and predict where we came out and be in control of where we were going, it could be used to do so many things! Think of all the prey I could catch, the amount I could slaughter, I can taste the kills already! Just going from one to the next to the next! With a jolt I realized I had finally heard Kyuu's thoughts. "I don't want the hurt innocent people!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. His frustration at ruining his "happy thoughts" washed over me, making me subconsciously shudder.

**"You will do what I say boy."** It was hissed out slowly.

"But I don't want to hurt people who have done nothing wrong." I whispered it softly. The thoughts of hurting of good people making me sick.

**"I don't care I wish for blood you worthless brat, I wish for blood an I will have it."** It was growled out angrily and scared me, I had never seen him get so worked up before.

"W w w-what if we only hurt the bad people? Then you could kill people who deserved it and I would fee better for not hurting the nice people." I stuttered it out hoping he would go for if. I could still feel his anger at me for questioning him but he seemed appeased by my idea.

**"So you wouldn't care as long as its a bad guy is what you're saying? Kukuku I can work with that."** I could feel his mind wander back to killing and I was just relieved he gave in so easily.

"Let's see of we can get this tree thingy down pack." And with that we sunk into the closest tree.

/

By evening we could effectively travel through the trees. We realized we could also sink right into the ground and travel that way. This worked everywhere there was roots and other suck things. We were currently looking of something to eat. Every time we went to eat a berry or fruit a sick feeling would make us feel nauseous. Suddenly our head shot to the right. At the edge of our senses we could feel three people. One of the presences seemed to disappear and the two left were coming in our direction. We quickly hid in a tree until they past by. After they were gone we stepped out. All we could smell was the most delicious sent and we began running towards it. We were starving, having not eaten in days. We reached a clearing where the sent was strongest and almost all thoughts had left us except to find the source of the scent. Looking around the quickly we quickly found what was making our mouth water. The in the center surrounded by blood was the corpse of a man.


	4. Chapter 4

I started shaking. I couldn't help it, I/we had been wanting to eat another human. I was disgusted at myself but that didn't stop me from being hungry. I was barely stopping us from lunging forward and devouring it-him.  
**"Calm down brat, it's not so bad and we're hungry, lets not let it go to waste." **He brought us closer to the corpse.  
"But he's a human and we're at least part human, that's cannibalism!" I screaming, I didn't want to eat it no matter how hungry we were.  
**"Are we human? If we are it's only a small part, we seem more plant then human. I mean we are green and have a close connection with plants, we are more closely connected with them, why else would the very thought of eating berries, nuts or vegetables make us sick? We are part of nature, that jutsu made it so. It's a natural occurrence for creatures to take nutrients from other creatures. There's nothing wrong with eating this corpse, he's dead not like he needs it. Suck it up and stop being a little pansy."** His argument was very reasonable and we were moving forward faster. As he/we kneeled I felt his own hunger, and remembered that he being a demon he had probably eaten many people in his life time. Looking down at the man I couldn't help but want to taste, he just smelt _soooo_ good. I looked him over and noticed long gashes running across his body with a kunai still in his heart. His hitai-ate said he was a missing-nin from Iwa. I reached out and slicked my finger and brought it close to our mouth. Kyuu's anticipation was building. I was glad he wasn't pressuring me. I don't know what I would do if he did. As I put my finger to our mouth I realized I couldn't do it. I was frozen.  
"Kyuu I can't..I want to but...I..I.." I start hyperventilating I couldn't bring myself to eat somebody.  
**"I'll do it this time but you better grow used to it." **I was so relieved. I gave Kyuu control of the body. He moved my hand to our mouth and tastes the blood. It was the most amazing think I have ever tasted, I just wanted more. Forgetting that we were going to be eating human I silently encouraged her to eat more. All I could think of was having more of that sweet flesh. Laughing at my silent urgings Kyuu leaned forward until our mouth was aligned with his neck, slowly he ran our tongue along its base before slowly sinking our teeth in and ripping apart the tender flesh. I hummed in the back of our mind at the taste, an actual purr working its way past out lips. Kyuu continued this until there was nothing left, eating the heart, sucking out the bone marrow and even finishing off the hollow bones. All that remained was his supply's and clothe. We decided to grab what could be useful. We got a set and a half of kunai, half a set of shuriken, four packs of senbon, ninja wire and some clothing that we cut up to fix. We were now wearing long pants tapped off at the ends with white tape, our boots from before, a black mesh top and a large black cloak that fit around our flytrap. Happy with the out come we once more began our trip to a town or village to discover where we were, and now to also find a food source. As we searched we focused on the wildlife around us. Kyuu was right when he said we were closer to plants. The longer we focused i realized we could understand the plants "speech". Trees were the easiest to understand, speaking of things they had seen what the forest used to be like. They would answer questions on how something worked or tell stories and were generally friendly except for this cedar tree we passed, he was a real bastard. Weeds were real jerks, never having anything nice to say. Flowers and such that we came across were very chatty, and we were learning about how plants could be used as poisons or healing. It was nice to be able to talk with "someone" who would not ignore or try to hurt me.  
"Kyuu what are we going to do now? We're not part of a hidden village and we can't join a regular one with our appearance. What do we do with ourself?"  
**"Whatever we want, nothing binds us to anything. We can travel or find ourselves a nice place to stay. It doesn't matter."**  
"I've never really thought of doing anything besides being a ninja or becoming Hokage."  
**"I've never thought I'd be degraded to such a pitiful existence but look where we are."** It was forced out and his anger was washing over me so I just shut up and tried to stay calm.  
I turned to a small wildflower and asked if there were any people near here. It was very excited and told me that if I went where the sun rises that there was a place where people gathered. I thanked it and it just giggled and wished me luck.

We walked for the rest of the night and slipped into a willow wisp when it was timed to go to sleep. The entire day I had been distracting myself from the fact that I had eaten a man this morning and liked it. The plants and Kyuu had kept my mind off it before but now sitting here, I remembered how good that man tasted. I could us getting hungry again and how despite what I wanted I was excited to eat another person. I thought about what Kyuu said about us being more plant. _I guess I felt more like a plant, I felt happier with them then with people. I don't think I could eat a vegetable anymore after connecting with them. I had never connected with another person. I guess I have never really felt human before, it would be worse to eat a plant then to eat a person._  
_**Now you're getting it brat.**_  
And with that we fell asleep


	5. Chapter 5

Just beyond the reach of my senses I could feel the village we had been working our way towards. We could have just traveled through the plants, we decided it would be better to discover more about our body. Right now we were messing with the flytrap. We found that it was very sturdy and was a natural armor. We could retract it completely. It sat on our hips but went up past our head, and trailed down our legs. We could close it, or open it wider then what it already was. It was also energizing when the sun hit them. It felt real nice to. These discoveries took the entire walk. Right outside the village I saw a women being attacked by two ruff looking men. They were carrying sword and looked like mercenaries or bandits.

_"We should help her! She looks like she's in trouble."_

_**"Why would we, it doesn't effect us."**_

_"If we help her, we could eat the two men, there bad for hurting her and shed be grateful and could help us." I reasoned._

_**"That's not a bad idea, and we are quite hungry."**_

Slipping out a kunai we sunk into the ground. Just to reappear behind the man who was raising his fist to hit her. We quickly slit his throat, before sinking back into the ground. The man's partner was distracted noticing his partner hit the ground and didn't notice us when we were bind him. We also quickly slit his throat. The women who was on the ground staring at me. I smiled at her and we walked forward crouching down at her level.

"Are you alright miss? Do you need help?"

My voice was soft and kind. She looked us up in down in fear, until she heard what I said. The fear left her eyes but she was still tense.

"I am thanks to you, can I know you're name?"

"I'm Naruto-**Kyuubi** we should go by my name,** you're names stupid it means fish cake.** Ya well you're name is nine tails, that's not a good one either.** Better then yours.** Nuh huh. **Stop being a brat we'll just combine them.**

So we'll be Naruto Kyuubi." I was smug at winning the first name. Looking at the lady I saw her eyes were wide.

"I'm sorry miss, **we have multiple personalities, **is that what it's called? **Yes. **Oh I didn't know, you learn something new everyday.** Shut up idiot. **

I hope we haven't scared you."

She just shook her head no and tried to stand but started to fall. We quickly caught her and helped her up, she was leaning on us heavily.

"Do you need help home?** But we're hungry!** We can wait, it won't take long to help her.** You're such a wimp."**

She just smiled. "Thank you, it would be very helpful. You can also join us for dinner?

Kyuu started laughing at the thought and I blushed. "Oh, that's nice, but...ummm, well,** we eat people."** I could feel the smirk on his face. "But only the bad people! And it's not a choice I have a medical condition." I really didn't want her to hate us, Kyuu just snorted at me. Her eyes were wide but seeing my obvious distress of my _condition _

she didn't get scared.

"Well, you could stay the night then, I'm assuming you don't have anywhere to go?" When she said that our eyes widened, his in shock that she wasn't running and mine in the fact she was the first person to be nice to us, even seeing the monster we are. I quickly hugged her. She tensed before hugging back. Tears were running down my eye.

**"We can go in 10 minutes,** if you wait we'll carry you home!" She just nodded for some reason her eyes were sad.

"That's fine, Naruto how old are you?"

"I just turned 12 in October, how bout you?"

"I'm 22, can you bring me to that rock while I wait?" I just nodded and helped her over. Then we quickly grabbed a body and ran into the woods. I'm not sure if it was because she didn't hate me for it or Kyuubi's influence but this time I took the first bite.

/

After we cleaned up, she might accept my cannibalism but I don't think she would appreciate if I came over all bloody. We came back to the clearing smiling. It was nice to be full and have a friend.

"Hello Naruto."

"Hey!" Before she could ask we quickly picked her up.

"Where do you **live." **

"15km east of here." Nodding we quickly pulled into our flytrap, even with her being larger then us, with her folded over, she got inside. Just.

"What are you doing!"

"We are bringing you home,** it's faster to go this way.** Don't worry it just feels like you're moving fast.** It'll get us to you're house in seconds."**

The fly trap closed and we smiled into the ground. I moved in the direction she had said earlier. I reached out with my senses and felt a two people away from everyone else and assumed it was her home. She was young enough to still be living with her family. When we exited from a tree, I opened the flytrap and put the nice lady down.

"That was...interesting, I'm a little bit dizzy now." Her voice came out breathy. I just smiled and helped her walk towards the house. An old man ran out and froze when he saw us.

"Tsunami, are you alright?" His voice was laced with worry, and he was eyeing me up oddly.

"I'm alright father, I just twisted my ankle. This is Naruto. He saved me from some of Gato's thugs. He'll be staying the night." At this he seemed relived and ran forward to help her into the house. Looking around I some it was very quaint but quite very warm and welcoming. We sat her down on a chair and the man ran to grab some gauze. I quickly knelt and looked at her ankle. When came down I quickly grabbed the gauze and began to wrap it properly. I was used to having these types of injuries and knew how to handle them. I could feel the old man watching me. I could understand that with my appearance.

"So you saved my daughter. I guess I'm in you're debt."

"That's ok sir, she's very kind.** Not to mention the extra benefits."**

His eyes widened when Kyuu talked. Tsunami ran her fingers through our hair and I will deny that I purred, it didn't happen...no matter what they say.

The old man sat down across from us and got comfy.

"Why don't you tell us about yourself Naruto. How did you come to be here?" As he spoke he pulled out a pipe and stuffed in some tobacco. Me and Kyuu argued back and forth about what should be said. We agreed on the full story in the end. But toned down.

"Well I am from Konoha, and I never used to look like this. On the night I was born the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked our village. The yondaime was unable to kill the demon so instead sealed it within a newborn baby. The baby was pale and had yellow hair and bright blue eyes. That boy just so happened to be me. The Sandaime made it law that the host and anyone from the younger generations were not to be told. So I never knew but the villagers did and they took their anger out on me anyway they could, even if i didn't know why. I grew up an orphan. I was being trained to be a ninja but I had failed my last test for the third time. Mizuki one of my teachers tricked me into stealing a forbidden scroll under the guise of being a gennin if I did. He also said I had to learn one jutsu from it. So I stole the scroll and I saw a very unique and powerful jutsu. It would allow the use of nature chakra among other such things. So I performed the jutsu and I fainted. When I woke up I had no energy, and my appearance was like this. Mizuki and Iruka-sensei, who was one of the only people to ever treat me human found me. When they saw what I looked like and Iruka was going to kill me. I escaped accidentally triggering a jutsu to travel in the ground. From there I discovered the Kyuubi and we learned that we now share the body and had become one soul.** We have been looking for a place to stay since then. Especially with our newfound diet."**

After I had explained this, the old man and Tsunami squeezed my shoulder and the old man looked sad.

"Father, I have an idea. Naruto here need to eat human flesh but will only eat **_bad people. _**Why don't we hire him to protect us from Gato's thugs, we could give him the extra room." I perked up at this idea. I'd like to stay here with these nice people.

"Let's discuss that tomorrow it's getting late, why don't we all head to bead hn?"

I just nodded and let Tsunami lead me to a room. We ha very good dreams.


	6. Chapter 6

So I have gotten some questions about pairings and who they wanted our lovable cannibal to pair up with. So I have started a pole just to see you're opinions. I might not used the poll voted but ill take into consideration, so until next time ja ne.

/

Waking up we stretched quickly before walking downstairs and into the kitchen where we smelled cooking. We had the flytrap away so it didn't get in the way. Tsunami was in the kitchen cooking. I wrinkled my nose at the smell. I can't believe I used to eat that. It was actually making me feel sick. When she turned to see me she just smiled in a motherly way and a pang went through my heart at the thought that she was the fist to give me such a look.  
"Would you like to sit with us for breakfast?"  
"Thank you, **no it smells like-**don't be rude Kyuu, we'd love to sit with you,** no you do, I don't wanna, much rather go looking for****_ our _****breakfast**, no we can't do that yet. What if they hire us? We'll need basic information and such. **You're a brat you know that, we better get food soon. **We don't even have to eat that often, you're just being greedy. Stop complaining." Kyuu growled but I ignored it and we sat down at a chair that wasn't set. Tsunami seemed to be uncomfortable with what we had just said but she just nodded and went back to cooking. The old man came downstairs next. He gave Tsunami a hug and sat at the head of the table after murmuring a good morning. Tsunami began spooning the rice into bowls and putting them on the table when a little boy came running down to stairs and sitting across from me. When he looked up and saw me he froze before flinging himself backward with a small scream. **"Kukuku,** don't be mean, he's just a kid.** It was still funny, **have you looked at us in the mirror?" He just shut up after that and stared at me before slowly sitting across from us. Watching us to see what I/we would do.

"This is my son, Inari. Inari this is Naruto. Naruto will be staying with us for a bit." At this his eyes widened and he gulped. He continued to stare at us as he ate.

"Naruto, before I can go to the village and hire you, I need to be aware of what you want for payment." The old mans face was serious and the boy seemed to perk up at this. We deliberated for a moment, thinking of our needs and wants.

"Well we will need a place to stay and keep any belongings we pickup.** The corpses of our kill.** General supply's and clothe or the money to acquire some, either will work** and secrecy. Nobody can be aware of who we are. The villagers may call us by na me but in the presence of other ninj may just call us shinobi. **We will be making this our territory and village so you mustn't let other ninja here except for when we allow it." The boy paled at the mention of corpses but the man seemed relieved with what we had to say.

"Those are easy demands to work with. Our village is poor and we don't have much but we will be able to give what you have asked for. I'm having a meeting tonight and tomorrow I will introduce you. After that we will vote and will have an answer." With that said he put away his bowl and proceeded to say goodbye to his family before leaving for whatever he does for a living. Tsunami took Inari's bowl and began doing the dishes and the little boy himself ran up to what I assume is his room as fast as his little legs could carry him. Standing I quickly bowed to Tsunami letting her know I'd be back at nightfall, before going back into the woods. I could feel Kyuu manipulating our senses, reaching out trying to find other people. We could feel the old man walking down the path to the village. But in the opposite direction two life forces burned bright. Kyuu's emotions washed over me in waves. Bloodlust, hunger, excitement at a hunt. A small shiver ran down us in anticipation. I couldn't wait to taste that sweet nectar. Whatever qualms I had over eating other people were quickly being overridden by the memory of the taste of flesh and Kyuu's emotions. We quickly melted into the tree and traveled until we were right outside their camp, staying in the tree's. when one got up to leave we followed him and when he was far enough a way we snapped his neck before he realized we were there. A sinister smile twisted itself onto our face. Slowly leaning forward I grabbed the mans hand and brought it towards our mouth. His skin was tanned hunting towards him being outside often. Looking down at him he looked to be about 30/35. A unruly brown hair strewn around his face. Scars marred his skin. He was probably one of the men that were hired by this_ Gato, _judging by the quality of his armor and sword. I was glad that he wouldn't be bothering Tsunami and her family anymore. With that I bit into his finger. Blood trickled down my chin and I could hear the bone crunch as it came if his hand. Chewing I reveled in its sweet taste. Definitely better then ramen. Swallowing we quickly bit off another finger. Then another, then his arm, and his shoulder and we just kept eating more and more and more until all that was left was his worldly belongings. Our mouth and cheeks were caked in blood and in covered our front .

"Kaito, Kaito, where are you? We need to get back to base with our report." This was bellowed out and footsteps were coming closer. The thought of seconds brought happy thoughts to us as we crouche bush and waiting. The man who came was tall and was very well built, individual muscles bulging under his dark toned skin. He had black hair and looked to b e 19/23. Pulling out a kunai when he go close enough we quickly stabbed him in the back. Gurgling was heard before he fell down, blood trickling down his chin. Licking the kunai I noticed he tasted sweeter and had a bit of a tang. It was very good. We quickly consumed our meal. Going to a river to clean off we looked around at the forest. If the old man got us the job we would be living here. This would be ours. That thought was nice. B ack in Konoha not even my apartmen t was mine, and Kyuu being the fox was used to having territory to watch over. This would be our island. _**We will have to protect it from others who will want to claim it. We will also have to make sure no suspicion is drawn to us here.** And make sure the people are happy, it will be our responsibility to protect them.** Much like pets, kukuku.** Don't think of them that way!** I was a fox demon for years, it's how I've always thought of humans. You're opinion will change in time. You are not completely human after**_** all.**

That left me with something to think about. My opinions and what I thought was wrong and right had already so much. Killing was easy. Eating others was obvious. My trust in people had changed. Everything was warping. Standing we began to search and learn the layout of the island. It was small and it was very wet. There were many herbs and flowers though and they made good company. My plant lore was growing rapidly. We found out that if we put a small sliver of chakra into a plant we could make guesses at its healing and poisoning capabilities. We spent the rest if the day collecting herbs and other plants to make poisons and salves. The sun was setting when we arrived and the Tsunami and the rest of her family were sitting in the living room.

"Oh Naruto! You've come back, Otousan wouldn't tell us what the rest of the village said without you here." A big smile was on her face,_** (**_**_did she ever stop____ smiling?)_ **and she was talking fast. Nodding I sat beside her and looked over at the old man. ******"What did they say? Don't have all day.** Did we get hired?"

"Well we had a meeting and it took forever. People were worried about hiring you and when I explained you're situation it caused an uproar." Folding his hands behind his head he leaned back.

"The majority of the village voted to hire you and meet you tomorrow." A smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. A smile fell on our lips but Kyuu's half was more of a smirk.

"When do we meet t******he pathetic** villagers?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."


	7. Chapter 7

We awoke early, slipping into the woods before the sun rose so we could check for other intruders and a quick snack. When we had returned Tsunami was making breakfast while the old man was just hobbling down the stairs. Slipping into the house and into an empty seat across from the old man. As we silently sat as he sipped some tea with his eyebrows furrowed together we heard some fumbling before little footsteps came pattering down the stairs. When Inari saw us he froze before cautiously taking the seat beside his grandfather. It got tense after that. When Tsunami finally brought out their meal I was relieved. This meant we could go soon. It would take him time to walk there. Inari rushed his meal before running out the door as fast as he could.

**"Kukukuku,** stop laughing at him! He's just a kid.** You are just a kid and yet you didn't act like that when we met.** That's different,** not really, in fact it should have been more traumatic then it was."** That got me thinking of other traumatic events I had experienced in my life and a small shiver ran through my body. I could mentally feel Kyuubi frowning at this. Anger burning at the harm of what at the time was his vessel. I looked over to see sad eyes filled with pity. Pity that bothered me more then anything.

"Are we ready to leave now?** It's pathetic that it takes the entire morning to get there,** he's never had training and he's human, oh and he's old! **Pssh"**

The old man just stared at us for a second, his face was stuck between shock and offended. Standing stiffly he muttered about having to grab a few things and then we could leave. Thanking Tsunami for the meal (that we didn't eat) we quickly stepped outside and waited to leave.

"What if they don't like us? What do we do then, where should we go! **Even if they don't _like _us we will probably still be hired. We can protect them and they need us because of that. Stop whining. **Oh...but I want people to like us! I want to have friends. **Why do you want to be friends with dinner? They could betray us!...besides after awhile they will probably begin to rely on us and then you have to choices one is to make friends or to just be a phantom that helps them, and is whispered about to strangers. It's stupid to get to close people and I will not allow us to have such a weakness and you to have such a dependency on others."**

I was about to reply when the front door opened and the old man stepped out. With a big smile he waved us over . Walking over I sighed at Kyuubi's grumbling about having to walk so slowly.

"Are you ready for this Naruto? This meeting is just to get to know you, so you just have to make a good impression. Most of the town already likes the idea, especially with you not asking for outrageous sums of money." I nodded my head to in answer to his question and to show I understood. As we continued to shuffle along Kyuubi began to curse as he realized that it was going to take the entire morning to arrive...I couldn't help but agree with his sentiments

/

Entering the town I made sure to keep my hood up. I wanted to wait until we were in the meeting to show our face. There was almost no one on the streets. Stretching my senses I could tell that everyone was in the center of town. Looking up at the sun I realized we were just making it in time. I scowled at this. The walk here was the most ridiculously boring thing I've ever had the misfortune to be apart of. Kyuubi and I took turns practicing with the body and sensing. The worst part though was when we stopped for a break it just had to be in a clearing with the most annoying dandelion. It just wouldn't shut up! As we turned I could see the crowd in front of us. We had just entered the towns center and everyone just turned and stared at me. My flytrap was up with our cloak around it. Some people's eyes were wide, a couple people stepped back and a few brave ones leaned forward curiously to have a better look.

**_"Do something to make them feel more secure. If they feel to afraid and uncomfortable we can't get this job." _**

"What am I supposed to do to do that! I'm not that good with people, everyone in Konoha just hated me! I never had the learn people skills."

**_"I really don't care, just fix it."_**

Thinking on what Kyuubi just told me I slowly bowed at the waist.

"Hello, my name is Kyuubi Naruto. Please take care of me." Straightening out I saw half the crowd now seemed more relaxed.

The old man stepped forward, (I had finally learned his name on the walk over, it was Tazuna.) then in a surprisingly clear voice since his voice was normally gruff and muffled began to talk to the crowd.

"This is the ninja I was telling you about! Please don't be frightened, he wants to help us keep Gato back." I just stood still and ignored the fact that I was being scrutinized.

"Hey, even though he looks like a monster doesn't change the fact that he's just a boy, what can he do, I doubt he could take out any of Gato's men and has just got lucky before." A man shouted out from the crowd. Once I saw people begin to agree with him I realized I would have to defend myself.

"Since I've been here I have killed 3 patrol groups. All were trying to enter the village to collect some type of tax. They were absolutely delicious." At the sound of his voice everyone jumped at the malevolence in it. At the smell of fear I began inhale deeper, it smelled amazing. I stopped suddenly realizing what I was doing. Kyuubi began laughing at me. "I told you, you are changing. You are no longer human." I inwardly shivered at that. I was snapped out of my thoughts at a women's voice.

"Why are you wanting to protect us? Nobody does anything for free and what you've asked for as payment is not of equal value for what your giving." Concern and suspicion was evident in her tone and stance.

"Tazuna has told me that he made you aware of my past," there was some nodding heads. "I wish for nothing more then to have friends and live a life without hate. With what I have become that is hard. I just want for a simple life. Here I could have that. With me protecting the village it will be safe and have a chance to prosper. I would be happy with such a simple life." At the end I smiled a sad, small smile. It really was what I wished for.

**_ "What about what I want? I long for death, to kill and maim. I want power."_** He whispered this to me in my head. _"Can we not have that here? We would kill those who would harm our land, any who trespassed. Missing nin to bring in money. The plants have mentioned an old ninja village that used to be here before they were slaughtered during war, there would be knowledge and power. Could you not be content here for a time_." As I spoke I realized that Kyuubi was having a huge influence on my thoughts. I never would have talked like that before the change, I would have said the same things, but not in those words. I was having trouble with whether it was a good or bad thing, but at least I know that he would be changing to, it meant we would probably meet somewhere down the middle. The women who had spoken seemed content with my answer. There was some mumbling in the crowd now, some decision was being made, Tazuna would say something now and again. I ignored most of discussion, Kyuubi answered a couple questions but I was to deep in our mindscape trying to see how deep our changes were. What I saw disturbed me. Though there was still a definite separation but now little pipes were seen peeking through in a couple places in Kyuubi's den and the ground under the water on my side was earthy. Not only that but my sewer though still a sewer seemed to be more...not cheery but innocent? Pure? While Kyuubi's seemed to be darker, more sinister. It was interesting to see the changes. Not only that but small tendrils of our chakra were in the others domain. Looking at myself though was the biggest suprise. My skin was paler, like milk instead of the tan I was used to, it was like our body not my body. Looking in the water at my feet I saw that my hair has a green tinge but was still blonde. My canines were longer and...were my ears pointier? The only thing that remained untouched was my eyes.

**_"Hey gaki, get out here, they've decided and I'm tired of dealing with these appetizers."_** Frowning at his choice if words I allowed myself to surface and thrusted my discoveries into his mind. Maybe he'd have some thoughts on it. When I became aware of my surroundings I could feel Kyuubi sinking into our mindscape to see for himself what I had shown him. All of a sudden there was a hand slapping me across the back and some laughter.

"Ho, ho, ho. Lets celebrate your new job kid, how about some sake?" Tazuna was waving a bottle of the stuff in my face.

"No thank you Tazuna. I would like to remain in control of myself, what would happen if aren't in our right mind and do something wrong?" That shut him up for a minute before he nodded more to himself and tried to find another drinking partner as he prattled on about this bridge they were building.

"Hello Kyuubi-san, name is Daisuke. It's good ta meet ya." A tall muscles man said to me sticking out his hand. I accepted it with a large teething gleaming smile.

"You can just call me Naruto, the other one is Kyuubi." He laughed at this. "Don't it get kinda confusing between the two of ya?"

"Oh it's not to bad, we are very different. After a couple of meetings you will be able to tell and then it doesn't matter anymore." My voice was light and cheery and some people were looking slightly confused.

"Oh we can tell now Naruto kukuku, we been talkin to him for most da meeting."

"Sorry, normally we are both active but I got lost in thought. I can normally stop him from being so...himself?" That caused some giggles from some other people. A lot of people were now listening in.

"Ah, he wasn't so bad, bit if an arse an frightinin at times but said he wouldn't eat us so can't be that bad." I mentally sighed at that.

"That's great! He can be a bully sometimes."

"Not everyone is happy with im but I figured that all o us 'ave our meaner sides, yours is just more vocal." That threw me back. He didn't care. This person here didn't care. I could feel tears build up in my eye. One or two other people made noises of agreement in the background and most of the others were just hesitant.

"Thank you." And tears began to slowly make their way down my cheek, staining it with salt. He seemed shocked at my reaction before nodding and ruffling my hair. Kyuubi came forward at this time, still deep in thought. I pricked up when I felt someone at the edge of our senses.

"I'm sorry but we have to go, **someone is close and** we don't know everyone yet **so we can't** tell **if it's a villager or one of** Gato's **men**. We will be **back tomorrow.** I **hope it's one of his** men the **last ones **weren't very **filling.**" Daisuke looked shocked at us when we talked together.

"Ya weren't jokin when you said ya were both active at tha same time." We nodded out head and began to sink into the ground.

"Oy, meet me at da bridge tomorrow, I work with Tazuna, ill help ya around." I nodded again with a smile and waved quickly before we were quickly submerged. I knew I would never be viewed the same as everyone else but I think I could make a home for us here...but first dinner was getting away.


	8. Chapter 8

We silently slipped through the trees. Mist was ghosting the ground. No footsteps were left behind. Our black cloak swirled around us, protecting us from the moisture. Our senses were spread out as far as they could go, pushing their limits. We could feel the plants, wildlife and most importantly everyone in the village. We could feel them interact and go about there business. Over the last year we often had to rush and help someone get away from Gato's men. It had taken sometime but we had become completely integrated with the villagers. They had become dependent on us for safety and we had become dependent on them for company. We had been amazed when one day we came across one of the villagers being tortured by a rogue ninja that Gato had hired. He wouldn't say anything about who we were, our skills or possible weaknesses. Daisuke still walked with a limp today. It was not the only time we had come across the villagers trying o protect us in such a way. Ninja rogue or otherwise were not welcome in the village anymore. Strangers were watched closely. My heart soured at this, it was the first time that people had accepted me. With my changes I thought it would never happen, being proved wrong was the greatest thing that could have happened. Kyuubi even softened up to them. Seeing them as part of his territory and as such under his protection. They were almost seen as kits. I knew if someone were to threaten them he would rip out there throat. It had happened before. We growled as we felt two foreign signatures try to hide themselves along the path leading to the village. There wasn't enough time to go after them. They would have to wait. Four signatures were coming closer. One of them was familiar. Rushing forward I made my way towards the islands end. A boat made it to the beach. Tazuna stepped off the boat. I young boy with black hair was about to follow him.

"**Stop**. Your job is done. **Tazuna is home **and I have your pay. **Do not trespass on our home." **The boy froze. A kunai had made its way to his hand. A tall man put his hand on the boys shoulder to hold him still. At my presence Tazuna relaxed.

"Who are you? We were hired to bring this man to his home, why are you stopping us?" The tall man said this. His head tilted to the side and his one eye crinkled. I bet his reaction would be different if he could actually see me.

"Ahhhh, I'm sorry Kakashi. We don't let shinobi on the island. My friend here will bring me the rest of the way home. I thought I had mentioned that. I thank you for bringing me all this way." Tazuna said this while scratching the back of his head.

"But Tazuna-san, what about the rogue ninja! Kakashi said there was going to be much stronger ninja ahead!" A girl with pink hair was shouting this.

**"Don't worry**, Im already aware of them. As soon as **Tazuna **is home **I will deal** with them." All three of the genins stiffened. Kakmashi was giving me a once over. The black haired one was glaring at me and the the last one. A boy with a dog on his head looked very confused.

"How could you deal with rogue ninja by yourself? You don't look any older the us." The black haired boy said this. He came across overly confident. I snorted at this.

"I can guarantee you that I have dealt with more then you have in your life and have much more experience.** You don't even look blooded. You can't call yourself a ninja until your hands are stained.**" All of them stilled at this except Tazuna. Chortling he grabbed the pouch of money from my hand and tossed it to Kakashi.

"Now be a little nicer, they saved me from a pair of ninja on the way here. No need to be so protective." At that he slapped a hand on my back. I just stayed still and watched the ninja in the boat.

"Hmmm I'm sorry but our contract said to bring you to your home. We can't stop half way through. It would ruin our reputation." His eye was crinkled in a fake cheery way.

"Konoha ninja don't have a good reputation in wave. It is the most hated ninja village here. The only reason I hired you was because the others were to far away." Tazuna replied honestly. Kakashi looked thoughtful at this and the other were shocked.

"But why! Konoha is a-"

"It doesn't matter what you say. Konoha has no defense. If its going to be this much of a fuss I will let you accompany us to Tazuna's house. After that I will escort you back here." My voice came out harsh and gravely. Kakashi nodded at this before getting off the boat. The others followed.

"You must not make a sound and you have to follow me. This is for your own safety." After that I we turned, Tazuna right behind us and walked silently into the forest."

"Stranger-san, why aren't we taking the path?" The pink haired one called out loud but shyly. Growling I turned towards her.

"**What part of you must not make a sound, don't you understand. I said it was for your own safety, do you not care for your life? **The road is not a safe place, it is trapped. They are now aware of our presence thanks to your shouting. We had been talking quietly before so we weren't noticed. I did not want to put Tazuna in danger when I confronted him. **You have put everyone's life in danger with your inability to listen to instructions** and your lack of self preservation." My voice was an even quiet tone but that did nothing to hide the malice and hate I wasn't trying to hide. I started leaking killing intent before Kakashi stepped in front of her. Quickly gaining control I spun and began to make my way to the path. Tazuna shot a dirty look back at the group before following closely behind. They followed further behind and made a circled around Tazuna.

"I don't want you interfering in this fight. **It is mine. You aren't to leave Tazuna. **Do I make myself clear this time?" Kakashi nodded and waved while the others just nodded tensely.

"Stay on the path then. I want to attack him with surprise on my side. **Know that I am here watching everything." **With that we jumped in the forest and melding into one of the trees. I watched everyone became surprised when I was gone and how Kakashi straightened up and glances around. We smirked at the thought at having caught him off guard.

Following them I watched as the one boys dog scared a white rabbit out of a bush. The pink haired girl yelled at him for scaring everyone. When Kakashi yelled at everyone to get down and a giant sword go stuck in a tree I knew it was almost time to move. Slipping into the tree that the blade was stuck in I waited for the rogue to appear. It was only a moment later that he appeared standing on his sword. My smile widened. What good prey to come right to us. I heard Kakashi call him Zabuza, demon of the bloody mist. He was tall and half his face was wrapped in bandages. He wore basic ninja garb, nothing to really comment on. As he prepared a jutsu I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around him, my teeth sinking into his throat and my flytrap snapping closed to cut him in half. Sadly just before that happens he worked past his shock and performed a kawarimi and the taste of wood replaced blood. Growling I spat out the wood and looked at the shocked rogue who was on a tree branch across from me. One hand was clutching at his neck while the other now held a kunai. I let our bloody teeth show in a wide grin.

"**Awwwww, why'd ya move?** Its so much easier when breakfast doesn't run. **The meat is less stringy that way." **The Konoha shinobi were all shocked when I jumped out of a tree but now disgust and fear was mixed in as well. Not only did i just try to eat someone, they could also see my appearance now. I winked my violet eye at them so only Kyuubi's showed. I saw Kakashi recognize me.

"You little fucking brat. Your that punk that Gato warned me about. The demon who lives within the tree's. You sure look like a demon and bite like one but I don't think your much more then kid." We laughed darkly at that.

"**Don't say such things**. The title of demon does not belong to a mortal such as yourself. **You know nothing of what being a real demon means**. You can ask Kakashi down there. I was chased out of the village before I graduated the academy because I was a demon." That made him stiffen along with Kakashi and my old classmates below.

"Who are you?" Yelled Kiba. Glancing down at him I let a demonic smile slip upon my face.

"You knew me as Uzumaki Naruto. I am now known as Kyuubi Naruto. Protected of wave and the demon who lives within the tree's." shock filled their faces and with that I launched myself at Zabuza. My finger making signs for my next attack.


	9. Chapter 9

Hands flashing through signs and chakra being molded vines quickly grew out of the tree under Zabuza and began to wrap around him. Squeezing until he burst into water. Landing on the now wet branch we looked around to see Zabuza with his sword out and rushing him. Melding into the tree Zabuza just missed us. All of a sudden the mist thickened and Zabuza was gone from the visible eye. Following the path of his chakra we noticed he was heading towards Tazuna. All of a sudden there was 4 of them. Cursing to myself I rose from the ground behind one and slit it's throat. As our kunai stopped sliding he burst into water. Another one launched itself at Tazuna. Unprepared Kakashi was able to save him but as the water clone burst into water another Zabuza cut him deeply with its sword before Sasuke stabbed it, causing it to also burst into water. Nimbly our fingers ran through another set. "Fuuton: Reppushou" I called out and a giant burst of wind burst though the area clearing the mist. The last and real Zabuza was leaning on a tree beside a lake. Blood was pooling around him from having his throat ripped open. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as his hands flew through a long sequence and he called out a name I couldn't hear. The water behind him exploded and a giant water dragon appeared and began to fly at me. Eyes widening an not enough time to get away we shut the fly trap and Kyuubi brough forth healing chakra while I used my own supply to enforce the flytrap. As the dragon hit us I could feel us flying backward. After what felt like hours it stopped. Slowly opening the flytrap we panted in exhaustion. Where the dragon had shot forward there was nothing left but upturned dirt and broken trees. Zabuza was now on his knees panting as well. Growling we began to limp forward. **"You swine!** Normally we kill out meal first before we eat them, **but for trash like you we can make an exception."** Our voice was hoarse and one couldn't doubt the evil intentions within it. When we were a few feet away a set of senbon needles flew into Zabuza's neck. His eyes widened and he fell backwards. A young boy landed beside his body. He wore a blue fighting kimono and a hunter-nin mask.

"Thank you for taking him down shinobi-san. We having been following him for a very long time." He bowed at this and went to take the body.

"It's bad to lie,** not everyone takes to it very kindly.** We are already aware you are his accomplice. But at the moment **we are not in a state to fight him for you. The next time we meet,**

it will be your death." With that said we turned and began walking back towards everyone else.

"Are you alright Naruto?" Tazuna asked when we finally reached the group. His voice was riddled with worry and fear. Tazuna had seen us fight before, and kill. Sometimes we also came back ruffed up but this was the worst he had ever seen us.

"We **are fine, **merely ex**austed, is one **is one of the more difficult **fights we have encountered** recently." recently." Keeping my face blank I turned to my once classmates. "I **am to **tired to carry **your sensei **at the moment. **If you carry him back **we will allow you to stay until he is recovered. I will **even heal him **

myself." Being shaken from there shock Kiba and the Uchiha picked up Kakashi as Sakura carried there supplies. It took us the entire day but we eventually reached the house. Tsunami ran out.

"Father, Naruto! What happened, are you ok? Who are these people?" This all came out in a rush. As soon as her eyes landed on the severely injured Kakashi she gasped.

"Tsunami,** set a room for the bastard,** if you would please.** We have to heal him.** It would be unpleasant if he died here." She nodded quickly before turning back towards the house. Her bare feet slapping against to porch. As we reached the door she came back down and directed the Kiba and Uchiha to the right room.

**"Sakura. **You have a good memory yes? **You are coming with me,** you're help will be needed in the care of your sensei.** We are to tired to do all of it. After we make sure nothing is life threatening** you will need to take care of him through the night. **Tsunami will help you so you can't mess up."**

She gulped nervously before nodding. Going to our bedroom we entered the room.

"Tsunami will have have already started boiling water.** You will be washing the clothe and possibly the cut.** You will also be mixing and grinding some healing herbs.** Is that to hard for you?"**

The last part was sneered. She was gripping the bottom of her red dress tightly and wouldn't meet our eyes.

"No, I I -I can do it." Her voice was determined but the stuttering took away any confidence it could have had. Grabbing a few bags, needles and thread and a mortar and pestle. Limping out if the room I could hear Sakura close our door. Moving down the hall I came to the room that was set up for Kakashi. This wasn't the first time I had healed someone. The village healer had been old when I first joined the village. When he saw our affinity with plants he began to teach us the healing arts and human anatomy. He knew lots, as much as any shinobi does about how the body works and what different herbs do. He used to be a doctor to the old daimyo. He had an apprentice who wanted the position of head healer. So he gained favor with the daimyo's son and when the old daimyo died and hi son took his place he took my spot and he was banished from the city. It wasn't a year later after the birth of his first son that the son died from sickness. So when he took me on he knew he was going to die soon, being the here he was. He taught us everything, anything he might have missed he left for us in books. Tsunami was learning from the books but at the moment could only heal basic things. She didn't have our advantages. So when we entered the room we weren't surprised to see the curtains drawn shut and a candle was lit as the only source of light. Two pots were filled with water and long white strips were laid out for cleaning the would. Kakashi was already shirtless though he was still wearing his mask for some reason. Shrugging it off I showed Sakura how to clean off the soiled clothe so we could reuse it. For the next half hour we cleaned and inspected the wound. It was a clean cut and didn't cut anything to important. Would take about a week to heal to the point where he could fight again if he had to, 2-3 until he was in perfect condition if he didn't push it. As I started stitching up the would Sakura finally gained enough confidence to start asking questions.

"Naruto is it really you? And why did you call yourself a demon? What happened to you?" Her voice was soft when she asked but filled with curiosity. After thinking silently for a minute I decided to answer truthfully.

"Do you know my birthday Sakura?" She shook her head no.

"It's October 10. The same day of the Kyuubi attack." She nodded but didn't seem to get it.

"What do you know of the Bijuu Sakura?"

"Well only that there are 9 of them. The Shodaime divided them amongst the 5 great ninja villages. The amount of tails determines the strength of the Bijuu." She said this in a lecturing tone, her voice loud and clear. I nodded at her answer before continuing my explanation.

"The Bijuu are immortal. They are impossible to kill, but you can seal them away. The weaker the Bijuu the easier it is to seal. The one tails at least could be sealed in an item. The Kyuubi on the other hand can only be sealed in a new born child." Understanding began to show in her eyes. "For reasons I'm not going to tell you, I was the child the Hokage sealed it within me. As I'm sure your aware he was one of the greatest seal masters second only to those from the Uzumaki clan,"her eyes widened at the last part. "Because of this his seal was very strong. I wasn't even aware what was sealed inside of me. Everyone else was though. The Sandiame made it law not to speak of it so I could attempt to have a childhood. It didn't work but I'm thankful that he tried. Everyone believed I was the demon, even if it wasn't the case. Anyway because of my poor treatment and the beliefs of others I was an easy target for another's schemes. Mizuki tricked me into stealing the forbidden scroll and told me to learn one jutsu from it. I picked the wrong one. It merged myself, the Kyuubi and nature.** This is the outcome."**

She was wide eyed and looked sad and fearful at the same time. I figured if I wanted to be on good terms or ever join Konoha gaining sympathy would be a good idea.

"That's horrible...but you said you were going to...eat , Zabuza." She whispered it and I could tell she was hoping that I didn't mean it.

**"Sakura,** I don't think you understand.** We are no longer fully human.** I'm sorry if this disturbs you** but the only thing we can** eat now is **human** flesh." Horror filled her eyes and she leaned back.** "Don't look at us like that"** he hissed that out menacingly. "Sakura, you are a ninja. Ninja kill people all the time, you will end up killing countless people before your 18.** All we do is get rid of the bodies in an efficient manner."** She was obviously going into denial. Finishing the last stitch I stood up.

"You need to change to bandages every hour and a half.** Make sure he doesn't get a fever, if I find him in worse condition tomorrow I will blame you.**

If you have any questions ask Tsunami." Turning we opened the door to see Kiba and the Uchiha fall forward.

"If you** have any questions, **we are willing to answer then tomorrow.******We are to tired now so fuck off brats." **With that we continued to our room and lied down. What a pleasant way to end the day.


End file.
